Spark-controlling means for internal-combustion engines.



C. E. STAHL.

SPARK CONTROLLING MEANS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.26, I915.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

C. E. STAHL.

SPARK CONTROLLING MEANS FOR TNTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.26,19I5- 4 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

CHARLES E. STAHL, 0F MEBIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE CONNECTICUT TELEPHONE & ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CONNECTICUT.

SPARK-CONTROLLING MEANS ieaooa.

Application filed August 26, 1915. Sr1a1No 47,431.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, CHARnns E. STAHL, a

citizen of the United States of America, re

siding at Meriden, Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Spark-Controlling Means for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to for internal combustion engines, and particularly to a combined throttle and spark control.

Broadly stated, it is the object of my invention to provide an improved mechanism which makes unnecessary the usual spark controlling lever by which the moment of ignition may be advanced or retarded manually. At the present time, it is common practice to provide on the steering wheel of an automobile for instance, one lever for controlling the throttle, and another lever for controlling the spark. By my invention the spark lever, as such, is dispensed with, the sparks being automatically. controlled and varied properly in accordance with the load on the motor.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a view conventionally representing an internal combustion engine with my improved apparatus associated therewith. Fig. 2 is a relatively of a preferred form of my apparatus. Fig. 3 is a similar view, the parts being in a different position. Fig. 4 is a cross section on the plane of the line 4-1, Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views.

1 conventionally represents the cylinder of a gas engine, 2 the carbureter,'3 the gas pipe or manifold leading from the carbureter 2 to the cylinder 1 in the usual manner, and 1 represents the usualspark plug.

5 conventionally represents a timer and distributer which has the usual electrical connection with the spark plug 4, and by which the timing of the spark may be varied, in the usual manner, that is to say, by-partially rotating the casing of said timer. As is well known, the timing of the spark should be such as to prevent knocking and at the same time should be as far advancedas possible in order to ob,- tain the greatest efliciency'. It is seldom that proper timing is correctly effected by manual control, since in automobile practice, the load is almost constantly varying,-

Specification of Letters Patent.

controlling means enlarged view, partly in section 0F MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, A COBPOION FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Patented J an. 18, 1916.

and it would require corresponding constant attention on the part of the operator, toalways so position the timer 1 as to cause the spark to occur at the most eflective point.

, By my invention the correct timing under varying loads is taken care of automatically as will later be seen. i

6 represents a manually operable lever which may be manually shifted to different positions, and by which the usual throttle is controlled.

7 is the usual lever connected to the usual throttle valve indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 8. This connection may be effected in any well known manner as by a rod 9.

10 is a base upon which may be mounted a cylinder 11. a

12 is a pipe which enters one end of the cylinder and leads back to and enters the gas pipe 3 between the throttle 8 and the interior of the cylinder 1.

14 is a piston in the cylinder 1.

15 is a piston rod, the outer end of which carries a suitable guide head 16. This guide head maycarry two spaced bearings or anti-friction rolls or pins, 17-17.

18 is a lever pivoted at 19 on the base 10. One end of this lever 18, for example the upper end, is provided with a suitable guide preferably in the form of a slot 20.

21 is a rod connected at 22 to the timer,

the other end of the rod 21 passing between the guide pins 1717.

21 is an adjustable turn buckle on rod 21. 23 is a projection or pin on the rod 21 designed to project into the guide-way 20 of the lever 18. In the particular form shown, the guide-way or groove 20 is in the upper part of the lever 18, that is to say, is above the pivot 19. The rod 9 has an extension 9 which may be suitably connected with the lever 18. t

21 is a spring within the cylinder 11 which constitutes one preferable means for moving the piston in one direction, in this instance downwardly. If desired, this spring may be made adjustable by any well known means, for example, by making the cylinder head, against which one end of the spring bears, adjustable in the cylinder, as shown. The rod extension 9 may also be connected to the lever 18 at various points to secure proper adjustment.

When the parts have been initially adjusted in the proper manner, the operation will be as follows: Assuming the parts stand as conventionally shown in Fig. 1, the throttle 8 is shown as practically closed, that is to say, it is in the position designed to control the engine at its slowest speed, and the timer is shown as fully retarded. In this view the lever 18 stands in a position in which the guide-way 20 is in a plane at substantially right angles to the rod 21. It may be assumed that this is the position of the parts when the engine is started and running slowly under load. With a fixed load the of the spark. The rate of advance requiredopening of the throttle means an increase of speed and requires a proportional advance advance or retardation to be greater as will cause said rod to move longitudinally the throttle is opened or closed. If however, the position of the throttle is not changed, since the guide-way 20 now stands at an angle oblique to the rod 21, it follows that the lifting of the outer end of the rod in a direction to partially rotate the timer 5 and advance the spark. If aload'is suddenly put on the motor while it is running, with a fully advanced spark, the vacuum in the pipe 12 will decrease and the piston 14will move in a direction to cause the rod 21 to move back so as to retard the spark, and thereby avoid premature ignition. Again, the quick opening of the throttle 8 will instantly tend to decrease the vacuum-in the gas pipe 12 so that by this act the spark will be automatically retarded to avoid lmocking and as the motor assumes its load so that it is not laboring, the spark will be again au-- tomatically advanced.

From the foregoing, while the lever 6 may be said to be primarily a throttle control, it is nevertheless, so associated with the automatic spark controlling mechanism that it places said mechanism in the proper condition to automatically control the timing of the spark so as to cause said spark to occur as early as possible under all varying conditions, and yet not so early as to cause back-firing or preigniit will be seen that tion. For these reasons a motor equipped.

with an apparatus embodying the principle herein disclosed will run with the greatest efiiciency either slow or fast or underlight or heavy load. n

It will of course be understood that I have illustrated and described only one embodiment of my invention, and I fully appreciate that various changes and modificatlonsmay be made without departing from the spirit,

1. In a combined throttle and spark control for internal combustion motors, a spark timing device, means for manually adjusting the same, and means controllable by variations in th load on the motor for modifying the action of said timing device in its various positions of manual adjustment and independent of any change of the speed of the motor.

2. In a combined throttle and spark controlling means for internal combustion motors, a motor cylinder, a fuel intake pipe leading thereto, .a throttle therefor, ignition mechanism including a movable timer for advancing or retarding the moment of ignition, a manually controllable means for shifting the position of said throttle, and automatic means controlled partially by said throttle controlling means and partially by the vacuum in said fuel pipe for shifting said timer.

3. In a spark control for internal combustion engines, a spark timing device movable to advance and retard the spark, operable means for shifting said spark timing" device, a pneumatic device connected with the intake of the engine, and means operated by said pneumatic device for modifying the connection between said manually operable means and the spark timing device.

4. In a spark control for internal combustion engines, a spark timing device movable to ually operable means for shifting said spark timing device, a pneumatic device connected with the intake of the engine, and means operated by said pneumatic device for modifying the connection between said manually operable means and the spark timing device, a throttle, said manually controllable means being also connected to said throttle for simultaneously operating the same while shiftingsaid spark timing device.

5. In a. spark control for internal combustion engines, a spark timing device movable to advance and retard the spark, manually manuallyadvance and retard the spark, manoperable means for shifting said sparktim- 111g device, with the intake of the engine,

means operated by said pneumatic device for modifya pneumatic device connected ing the connection between said manually I tion of which may be shifted, and a connection between said guide and the timing device, whereby said guide will operate on said timing device simultaneously with the operation of the neumatic thereon.

6. In a com ined throttle and spark controlling means for internal combustion motors, a gas intake for the motor, a throttle therein, an adjustable electric spark timing device for said motor, a pneumatically operable means controllable by the air tension 'within the engine intake beyond the throttle,

ternal combustion motors, means for modifying the advance and retardation of the spark comprising a pneumatic, a rod, one end of said rod being slidably connected to I said pneumatic, and arranged to be moved transversely thereby, a manually operable guide member arranged to be shifted to different angles manually and a sliding connection between said rod and said guide member.

8. In a spark control for internal combustion engines, a spark timing device movable to advance and retard the spark, and means for both manually and-automatically moving said spark timing device to vary the timing of the spark upon variation in load upon the motor and in advance of any change in speed of the motor.

9. In a spark control for internal combustion engines, a spark timing device movable to advance and retard the spark, and means for both manually and automatically moving said spark timing device to vary the timing of the spark upon variation in load upon the motor and in advance of any change in speed of the motor, said automatic means including a fluid pressure device.

10. In an automatic spark control for internal combustion engines, the combination of an ignition device, regulatable timing means for said ignition device, means for advancing or retarding the timing means to conform to the motor speed and a device responsive to intake pressure for modifying the operation of said means to maintain the rate of advance or retardation constant for each given intake pressure and to vary the rate as the intake pressure changes.

11. The method of controlling the ignition of internal combustion engines which comprises manually advancing or retarding the time of ignition in accordance with the engine speed and automatically modifying the rate of such advance or retardation by the intake pressure on the engine.

12. The method of controlling internal combustion engines Which comprises intro ducing fuel into the engine and simultaneously advancing the time of ignition, and automatically modifying the rate of such advance in relation to the admission of fuel in accordance with the intake pressure on I the engine.

13. In an internal combustion engine, a regulatable spark timing device, manually operable means for controlling said spark timing device and automatically operable means controlled by the intake pressure of the engine for modifying the operation of said manually operable means.

CHARLES E. 'STAHL. 

